Another practical benefit of Christianity was the elevation of knowledge, of learning, of science, okay, of the arts.

...

... he believed that we needed to have a society that was based upon Christian principles because elevation of science, elevation of knowledge is very important if you’re going to have an informed public. And I believe it was Thomas Payne also said, you know, you can look at a picture and it makes you think of the artist, you can look at some kind of invention and you think of the inventor. Why is it that we look at the creation and we don’t think about the creator. You know, we don’t do that. And if we really had Christian principles our educational system would not be in the mess it is in today.

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Another thing that I’m real big on that is a real detriment to this society is evolution. Evolution undermines Christian principles. Period. That’s all there is to it. You either believe there is a creator or you believe there isn’t. Some people say well I believe there is a creator and he used evolution. There’s a lot of problems there folks. When does sin come in, when does the spirit come in? You know, it’s evolution. You read God’s word and you will see the word creation all through it, old and new testament. And it undermines people’s faith. They have trouble reading or believing the Bible.

I agree with you that there aren't words to describe her, but you have to admit that she's got a point in the final paragraph. Saying that God works through evolution creates so many theological (=inexistent) problems regarding the origin of original sin that I'm not surprised so many people prefer to take the Bible literally. Oh well, I think I'll stay on the evolution-works-and-there-is-no-god-or-original-sin side

That's the ticket. Posit something that doesn't even exist, and demand that a scientific theory explaining the diversity of life also explain it.

A biology teacher I used to work with once said (on abortion) that a fetus becomes a person when it has a soul. Oh. That explains it completely. We just do the standard Certified Soul Test, and another pesky, vexing question bites the dust.

I will say that I'm loving the whole "Sally Kern is a dumb-ass, bigoted slag" thing just because I have friends who don't really follow any sort of politics or religious/cultural controversies or anything of that nature.

And more than several have called me within the last few days to say, "Dude! Did you hear about that stupid bitch in Oklahoma saying that gay people were more dangerous than terrorists?" (One even dropped a "C-Bomb," and she's been known to savagely punch people for that very offense.)

So, you know what?

In a twisted way, "Thank you, Sally Kern."

Because of you, people who never gave a shit about gay rights and the encroachment of the religious right into politics are now giving two shits.

Hahaha, did she seriously try to invoke Thomas Paine in trying to demonstrate that America is a "Christian" nation?

Stupid, stupid, stupid bimbo.

"The opinions I have advanced… are the effect of the most clear and long-established conviction that the Bible and the Testament are impositions upon the world, that the fall of man, the account of Jesus Christ being the Son of God, and of his dying to appease the wrath of God, and of salvation by that strange means, are all fabulous inventions, dishonorable to the wisdom and power of the Almighty; that the only true religion is Deism, by which I then meant, and mean now, the belief of one God, and an imitation of his moral character, or the practice of what are called moral virtues—and that it was upon this only (so far as religion is concerned) that I rested all my hopes of happiness hereafter. So say I now—and so help me God."

But of course, because he used the term "God" a few times he obviously has the exact beliefs Kern does, and believes in the angry-bearded-man-in-the-sky that Kerns gibbers in fear of.

I like this one too:

" I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church.

All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit."